Diagnostic blood samples collected by phlebotomy are the most common type of biological specimens drawn and sent to laboratory medicine facilities for being analyzed, thus supporting caring physicians in patient diagnosis, follow-up and/or therapeutic monitoring. Phlebotomy, a relatively invasive medical procedure, is indeed critical for the downstream procedures accomplished either in the anal...

A SUMMARY of methods for collecting blood from reptiles has been published. In that summary, four ways to collect blood from snakes are mentioned: cardiac puncture; bleeding from the palatine vein on the roof of the mouth; an orbital bleeding technique in which a capillary tube is used to pierce the conjunctival membrane between the eyeball and orbit; and blood collected by cutting off the tip ...

Blood specimens collected for culture by using the high-volume resin-based BACTEC system over an 18-month period at the Seattle Veterans Administration Center were examined in this study. Of 7,783 cultures obtained, 624 were classified as true positives. Patients in this group had between 20 and 60 ml of blood drawn per culture and separated into 10-ml aliquots for incubation. Analysis of the r...